This document discusses Greenpeace's open campaigning strategy and use of social networks and online platforms like GreenAction. Some key points: - Greenpeace aims to push environmental issues into the spotlight through campaigns that put pressure on industry and politics and create peer pressure. - Greenpeace wants to engage people already active on issues like their future and go where people are online, like social networks. - GreenAction is an independent platform for online environmental campaigns launched by individuals, groups like Greenpeace, or organizations. It visualizes commitment and combines wisdom of participants. - An evaluation after 8 months found over 6,000 registered GreenAction users from diverse backgrounds launching about 500 campaigns, both online and off.

1. Open-Campaigning

2. Overall strategy Greenpeace
Some obvious environmental problems are solved – but some
very negative megatrends remain.
environmental issues need to get pushed right into the
spotlight
campaigns put pressure on industry and / or politics, they
create peer pressure and visible actions
our aim is to get in touch with people who are already active
and who are willing to mobilise others to act
Young people have one very relevant motivation to get
involved – this is their future!

3. Greenpeace in social networks
Facebook: 8100 Fans since 2007
MySpace: 1930 Friends since 2007
StudiVZ: 1555 Friends since 2010
Twitter: 8700 Follower since 2007
Youtube: 174 Videos, over 70.800 visitors, over
1.061.000 cumulative views
2090 subscriptions
Flickr: started in 2009, still in the start-up phase

5. Why building up a campaign community?
Greenpeace campaigns aim to involve the public.
Greenpeace has to go where people are already active.
Young people as such are high level, strong internet users.
A diverse range of internet users leads to a diverse range of
ideas.
Greenpeace aims to create some kind of “mass
mobilisation”.

6. Why GreenAction?
A variety of increasingly complex environmental issues
needs a variety of solution approaches.
The environmental movement offers solution approaches
and pushes industry / politics to implemented these.
For changes to come we very much need a wide public
support.
And we need a media independent counter movement.
GreenAction is a platform to kick off online campaigns.

7. GreenAction...
… is entirely independent!
no advertising
no political parties
no companies
… is open campaigning!
initially designed for Greenpeace campaigns, it is now
available for other environmental campaigns as well
campaigns are developed by all, this is comparable to the
open source idea

9. GreenAction...
… visualises individual commitment
… combines strength and wisdom of many
… is a community that shows "You are not alone!“
… is and gives power and – if necessary – protection
… creates a backlash from on- to offline activity and back
Our visionGreenAction helps to politicise the web and
adds relevance.

10. 8 month later: Lessons learned
6,050 registered users
a broad spectrum of participants, most of them below 25
15-20% of the registered users launch campaigns (currently
approx. 500)
three different user groups: individuals, campaigners and
organisations like Bund, Campact, ...

11. 8 month later: Lessons learned
use of GreenAction
not only for online actions, but it has also a strong offline
focus (e.g. issues like climate, animal welfare)
there is a trend to "mashup" campaigns
activists actively get in touch – with each other as well as
with other communities
there is a remarkably low number of ToS violations
users actively participate to help improve the platform

12. Case: KitKat Campaign

16. Case: Gorleben

17. Case: Gorleben
The German place name Gorleben is widely known due to its
status as the proposed national final storage site for nuclear
waste. In the late seventies Germany urgently needed some
kind of “solution” for the growing nuclear waste mountain.
Whichever solution that could be, it was definitely vital to secure
running of the German NPPs as well as to push forward
national NPP new build plans.
Why Gorleben? Was it a sound decision based on geological
surveys? Was it a political one? A ten year moratorium to
further develop the site has recently been lifted.

18. Case: Gorleben
With the help of the Environmental Information Act Greenpeace
has been granted access the background material from the
seventies.
Thousands of pages have been scanned already, many more
to come. One thing is already entirely clear: Gorleben was
solely based on political reasons. The most explosive
background material has now been made transparent - it is
online, all documents are fully accessible and searchable.
The Apache Lucene Search Engine used for this is likely to be
the next GreenAction feature.

19. Case: Gorleben

20. Case: Gorleben
Right now a fact-finding commission is taking place in Germany
and members, journalist and citizen can search our Gorleben
Database.
They can make up their mind by themselfs.
And a Apache Lucene Search Engine
will be maybe the next GreenAction feature

21. Thank You!
Claudia Sommer - Webmanager
Greenpeace Germany
twitter.com/csommer